"For the people with beautiful ideas, a place within community." This was the title of my graduate school reflection project written after my first six weeks in Baltimore (six years ago). It comes to mind now, after a busy week full of courageous people implementing beautiful ideas and working together to create positive change within the city. It inspires me to write this morning and pay homage to all those that made an impact this week.

The fact that I am my father's daughter has never been questioned. I have always looked enough like him for people to say I took after him and my sister my mom. This year, however, I was given the opportunity to prove this fact in a different way. I sat on my very first jury. My father loves jury duty and I have to say, so do I. It is amazing to be a part of the judicial system, to have a front row seat to a trial and see in it all the complications and conflicts of our law and all of the inc... Continue reading ...

I facilitated part of a workshop at Baltimore Clayworks this past weekend. I started the session by asking participants what they were an expert at. My stipulation is that everyone is an expert at something. Even youth are experts in their own experience, but more often than not that expertise is ignored, devalued and discredited. I knew that young people were taught not to value their own knowledge, but it surprised me how many of the adults in the room also had an incredibly difficult time ... Continue reading ...

Last week was the first week of summer camp at Baltimore Clayworks. It was great. It was one of those moments that seemed to have the right people and things in all the right places. And somehow most of the week for me revolved around dodge ball. This seems an unlikely activity for one of my best weeks in recent memory, but somehow I feel like dodge ball was a key element to everything. I remember dodge ball from gym class in elementary school and not in a good light. I remember kids being br... Continue reading ...

In consideration of the 1,600[i]
public school supporters from Baltimore who demonstrated in the rain in
Annapolis on Thursday, March 11th, 2011 protesting the proposed
budget cuts in education spending, I felt it necessary to reflect on the event
and how it relates to the state of education. I found myself immediately
questioning what effect this demonstration would have on education even if
successful in preventing cuts in spending.